Steve Simon
After 27 years with the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, Steve Simon wasn’t expecting to get the call he got late last year. But when Stacey Allaster stepped down as CEO of the WTA, the board of the professional women’s tennis tour had only one candidate in mind. Simon had helped grow the Indian Wells event into the largest tennis tournament in the world outside the Grand Slams. A college tennis player at Long Beach State, Simon joined the event in a sales role in 1989 and in 2004 became tournament director and COO. Now he will be in charge of overseeing a star-filled tour with a lengthy calendar that has caused many top players to wear down with injuries as the season progresses. In this interview with SportsTravel’s Jason Gewirtz, Simon discusses his plans for the schedule, the WTA’s future and how he once wrote his way into Wimbledon.…
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